Ann Arbor Spark announced Thursday that OcuSciences Inc., an early stage medical device company, has won the award as the best of its most recent Entrepreneur Boot Camp session.

OSI will receive an initial engagement at the Ann Arbor Spark Business Accelerator valued at $5,000.

Founded by Dr. Victor Elner and Dr. Howard Petty at the University of Michigan's Kellogg Eye Center, OcuSciences is an early-stage medical device company formed to commercialize a unique and proprietary rapid and non-invasive functional imaging technique developed in their laboratories. This novel technology, termed Retinal Metabolic Imaging, enables detection of retinal diseases several years earlier than current clinical methods.

OSI is currently developing a product for use in routine annual eye examinations by primary eye care providers, and is now seeking $2 million in first round funding to accelerate product development and perform a multi-center clinical validation.

"Spark's Entrepreneur Boot Camp gave us the confidence and know-how to go after venture funding and take our business to the next level," said Anik Ganguly, president of OcuSciences Inc. "The program's veteran teachers and mentors helped us become better equipped for commercialization, and we look forward to the increased opportunities available through our engagement with Spark."

Ann Arbor Spark's Entrepreneur Boot Camp is an intensive two-day business planning and preparation program designed to help early stage entrepreneurs refine their business plan and take steps toward commercialization. The program provides hands-on training, mentoring and lectures by successful local entrepreneurs, investors, and members of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business faculty.

Since September 2001, the Entrepreneur Boot Camp has helped dozens of entrepreneurs develop their commercialization and growth strategies in an intensive, hands-on experiential process. By engaging seasoned entrepreneurs as mentors to assist with early stage business planning, the Boot Camp accelerates the entrepreneurs' progress to reach key milestones of business development. Past Boot Camp participants include PolyTorx, a concrete reinforcing additive; INVIA Solutions (formerly known as 4DMSpect), a software supplier for cardiac imaging; and Compendia Bioscience, a bioinformatics company for cancer detection.

For additional information about the Entrepreneur Boot Camp, visit www.annarborspark.org